Almighty and Eternal God! With lively faith and reverently worshiping Thy Divine Majesty,
I prostrate myself before Thee and invoke with filial trust Thy supreme bounty and mercy.
Illumine the darkness of my intellect with a ray of Thy heavenly light and inflame my
heart with the fire of Thy divine love, that I may contemplate the great virtues and
merits of the saint in whose honor I make this novena, and following his example imitate,
like him, the life of Thy divine Son.

Moreover, I beseech Thee to grant graciously,
through the merits and intercession of this powerful Helper, the petition which through
him I humbly place before Thee, devoutly saving, "Thy will be done on earth as it is
in heaven." Vouchsafe graciously to hear it, if it redounds to Thy greater glory and
to the salvation of my soul. Amen.

Prayer in honor of St. Blaise
O GOD, deliver us through the intercession of Thy holy bishop and martyr Blase, from all
evil of soul and body, especially from all ills of the throat; and grant us the grace to
make a good confession in the confident hope of obtaining Thy pardon, and ever to praise
with worthy lips Thy most holy name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Invocation of St. Blaise
St. BLASE, gracious benefactor of mankind and faithful servant of God, who for the love of
our Savior did suffer so many tortures with patience and resignation; I invoke thy
powerful intercession. Preserve me from all evils of soul and body. Because of thy great
merits God endowed thee with the special grace to help those that suffer from ills of the
throat; relieve and preserve me from them, so that I may always be able to fulfill my
duties, and with the aid of God's grace perform good works. I invoke thy help as special
physician of souls, that I may confess my sins sincerely in the holy sacrament of Penance
and obtain their forgiveness. I recommend to thy merciful intercession also those who
unfortunately concealed a sin in confession. Obtain for them the grace to accuse
themselves sincerely and contritely of the sin they concealed, of the sacrilegious
confessions and communions they made, and of all the sins they committed since then, so
that they may receive pardon, the grace of God, and the remission of the eternal
punishment. Amen.

Prayer
My LORD and my God! I offer up to Thee my petition in union with the bitter passion and
death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, together with the merits of His immaculate and blessed
Mother, Mary ever virgin, and of all the saints, particularly with those of the holy
Helper in whose honor I make this novena.

-the church of Saint Blaise, designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, was built
from 1518 to 1545; its high fa?ade is lined with two bell towers; on its left there is
the elegant canonica (priest's house) with a double-opened gallery.
Montepulciano, Italy

Blaise of Sebaste BM (RM), also known as Blase, Blasien, Biagio; Died
c. 316.

Many Catholics might remember Saint Blaise's feast day,
February 3, because of the Blessing of the Throats that take place on this day. Two
candles are blessed, held slightly open, and pressed against the throat as the blessing is
said.
Very few facts are known about Saint Blaise. It is believed
he was a bishop of Sebastea in Armenia who was martyred under the reign of Licinius
in the early fourth century.
The legend of St. Blaise tells us that he was born into a rich
and noble family who raised him as a Christian. He became a bishop. Later,
a new persecution of Christians began. He received a message from God to go
into the hills to escape persecution. Hunters discovered a cave surrounded by wild
animals who were sick. Blaise walked among them unafraid, curing them of their
illnesses. The hunters recognized Blaise as a Bishop, so they captured him to
take him back for trial. On the way back, he talked a wolf into releasing a pig that
belonged to a poor woman. When Blaise was sentenced to be starved to death, the woman, in
gratitude, sneaked into the prison with food and candles. Finally, the governor had
Blaise killed.
Saint Blase is the patron of physicians, sick cattle, wax- chandlers,
woolcombers, and of wild animals because of his care for them and of those with throat
maladies. He is invoked against afflictions of the throat (Bentley, Roeder).
As one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Saint Blase was much
venerated throughout Central Europe. In art he is a bishop with a metal comb and a tall
candle. He may be shown in many different ways: (1) with crozier (pastoral staff) and two
candles (no comb); (2) martyred by being torn with iron combs; (3) in a cave with wild
animals; (4) discovered by hunters, a fawn near him (not to be confused with the monk,
Saint Giles); (5) blessing the birds in front of a cave; (6) rescuing a poor woman's pig
from a wolf; (6) saving the life of a boy who swallowed a fishbone; or (7) with the city
of Dubrovnik in his hand or being carried over the city by angels (Roeder).